changes. >> marathon oil is a stock we're watching. announcing an executive change. david roberts the evp and also c.o.o., he's resigned to pursue other interests effective december 14th. the company didn't offer any additional details. they also haven't announced a replacement. but analysts say that mr mr. roberts is seen as the voice of the eagle ford shale. >> the dow is continuing to hang on to a 26-point gain. we'll see you tomorrow. let's get back to headquarters, wapner and the fast money halftime. >> all right, carl, thanks very much. welcome to the halftime show. let's take a look at where we stand on this monday on wall street. modest gains across the board for the dow, s&p and the nasdaq. here's what we're following on halftime today. what's eating apple? fresh off its worst week in 2 1/2 years, where does the beaten down stock go from here? page turner, are barnes & noble

shares ready for a breakout? one underperforming stock to overachieving traders square off in a halftime debate. but first our top story, pick 'em. we're scratching off the best stocks to own right now with the fiscal cliff looming. there's your lotto ticket right there. our traders for the hour, simon baker, stephanie link, joe terranova and jon najarian are trading the markets for the hour. joe terranova what are you scratching off? >> he's got to look at the consumer space. what's the fiscal drag going to be, in particular, on the aspirational consumer. i think e-commerce will continue. mastercard, i think it's going above 500 bucks. it's a name i would own. you do get the compromise. american express, again, catering to the aspirational consumer. and lastly, look at whole foods. the company that's actually cited the challenges looking ahead of the potential fiscal concerns. those are three names, all consumer related i think you want to go after. >> front page of "the wall street journal" today, asking the question whether the consumer is going to slowly sort

of peter out from their spending. you worried about that? american express whole foods will play right into that. >> i am not worried about that. i actually take the other side of a lot of what was written in that article. >> stephanie link? >> get a compromise that you want to look at is technology. technology is down 9.5% from the september highs. that's because we didn't get the budget flux that we normally get in the fourth quarter. because we have no confidence. and you heard it across the spectrum from companies that they just weren't spending and you saw -- heard about pushouts, et cetera. i think technology is kind of interesting. should we get a deal. i'm looking at two names. accent your has held up very, very well. been one of the best performers. they're doing the right thing, getting major market share from hewlett-packa hewlett-packard. they're also becoming more localized in each region of the world. so they're taking it even -- taking share from even the players that are local there. and then the other one i would look at, maybe ibm, on the flip side they saw some pushouts. i think it's pentup demand. they haven't executed well but their product cycle.

>> simon baker? >> i agree with stephanie and joe. one of the areas we've got a big response is in defense. defense cuts are going to be around 9.4%. a lot of people trading on that. northrop grumman, probably the cheapest in the aerospace, i think a lot of defense options will pop. >> this is a stock that rises only on a deal. is that what you're saying? >> yes. >> dr. j., what about you? >> fxi, judge. the reason, and i don't often go for the etfs as the way to play something like this, but given that it's china, i think the second largest customer of china, the u.s., avoiding the fiscal cliff, will be very good for them. you look at the build that it's had over the past three weeks, judge, it's up from roughly 35, pushing up towards 39 right now, that etf is, and i think if and when we do push this behind us, the fiscal cliff, that is, i think this one goes into the mid 40s. so i would buy fxi.

>> let's debate these around the table a little bit. stephanie? i mean you're more positive i guess than negative on china. you like the fxi? >> we have been involved in it for awhile. we like a lot of the industrials. we like a lot of the mining stocks. >> have we talked about that one? >> maybe just a little bit. i do think you are definitely seeing some momentum pick up in china. and some of the nonbelievers are starting to become believers. and the data over the weekend was pretty compelling. other than the trade data and the export data, which i think people are expecting it to be a little bit soft given what's going on in the global world. but you look at retail sales and industrial production at new eight-month highs, i think that's very encouraging. fxi and industrials. >> i knew that was true when steve weiss said he was buying the fxis. >> i was smiling. >> manufacturing is clearly retrenched with the concerns surrounding the fiscal cliff. we see that, all the numbers, you have to believe a little certainty. manufacturing comes back. the material space, which is so tied to the chinese growth. i think that's in particular a

sector you could look at. i think you could even, and i'm warming up to something that i haven't liked all year, but you could even look at the steel space and some of those names in there, and i think that would be a focus area. >> we're going to talk about apple certainly in more unstance a little bit later. but if you like technology, right, are you going to buy the nasdaq 100 or are you going to buy individual names? because i'm just wondering if apple doesn't participate the way you might hope it would or think it could in 2013 does that hold back technology as a secretary e? do you need to look for individual names? >> i just think you have to have a critical theme around it. i think there's two themes. one, smart fund growth, tablet growth, and secondarily stores. you're going to have all this advancement in terms of private, public spending on storeage, and those are the names -- >> and cloud computing. >> and semiconductors. >> dr. j. what about technology? >> i echo what joe said.

i flew with a high level exec last week from dell and he said exactly the same things, storage is where it's at, and that the cloud is clidriving business li crazy. in particular in emerging markets, believe it or not, judge, more so than the u.s. but he said europe's coming around, so watch that, as well. >> all right. let's bring in another voice to the conversation. one with more than $5 billion under management. tom dignan is head of u.s. equities for ubs global asset management. he joins us live from chicago. welcome. you're a new face to halftime. we're glad to have you. >> glad to be here. >> i know you've been listening to some of this conversation. you have top on your list something that wasn't mentioned by any of our traders and that's financials. looking forward to next year. >> yeah. well, financials have been sheep for awhile. and i think for a reason. people are scared, they're worried about the regulatory environment, which doesn't look like it's going to improve dramatically. but i think it all comes down to valuation. and you've got stocks trading well below tangible book values. when you look at the diversified

financials you have people that will burn in 2008 and aren't coming back to the party, but if anything, that's what gives long-term investors opportunity. >> you worried at all that some of these stocks have had such tremendous gains, i mean, i'll throw out bank of america for one, up like 80% this year? >> yeah, you've got -- you do have stocks, and that's why you have to be, i think, a little particular within the space. if you look at it across the board you still have -- i focus on the big ones trading below tangible book, where they have assets that they can dispose of, and i think they will dispose of, and you've got a couple companies that are cleaning up their balance sheets, and as we move forward, this area really does benefit from a stabilization, and hopefully an increase in housing prices as we go forward. >> so you're looking a little more cyclical in nature in the stocks you like? you like technology. you don't like utilities. a lot of people have been talking about utilities and the yield that you get from those. but you like a little more risk on the table. >> that's not my normal vent. i think what you've seen, if you look at how you define risk, if i define risk as paying too much

for a stock, i think the areas that have gotten a little bit crowded are people searching for income, and i think they've gone there from a logical backdrop. ten-year treasuries have been pushed to ridiculously low levels, and people looking for income have gone to utilities, staples, the dividend paying stocks, and i think within equities that's an area that has become overpriced >> with 5 billion under management how worried are you or are you watching the fiscal cliff? do you think once we get beyond it your picks focus beyond that? or are they shaping in any way the sectors of the market that you like? >> well i think we've seen an environment the last couple years where people have become more and more focused on the short-term. and with the money that we manage, we're trying to basically how much -- determine how much is the value of a business. how much would i pay if i was a cash buyer of that business. for most of the companies we look at. it's not dramatically impacted by whether the fiscal cliff is solved this month, next month or sometime in the first quarter. i think a bigger picture of things to look at is, we're in a country where you're going to

have fiscal constraints probably for the next five to ten years so you could have slow growth but improving balance sheet in the overall government. >> thomas, last couple years we've heard all about tremendous amounts of cash balances for corporations. in 2013, do you expect flushing of those balances, a lot of m&a activity and what sector in particular do you think benefits most? >> well, i think in the m&a activity you have seen -- it should be a pent-up demand. you've had slower than normal m&a activity given the underlying balance sheets. if you look at cash on the balance sheets it's where we saw levels in the mid 1980s, when the lbl market took over. i don't see a return to that. i don't think the animal spirits within the market are really there to deliver that yet. but i do think you'll see it in selective industries and the beneficiary across the board would become again financials, as that picks up. just from the m&a itself. >> tom, good to have you on the show. thanks so much for coming on.

so, guys, we talked technology. let's bypass that. financials? anybody like financials? >> sure. >> american express, mastercard before. i like consumer finance names. those names all year have been favored. i think they'll continue in 2013. i think you could see a little bit of m&a activity in the regional space just to acquire that asset base. >> i hope you're right. the stock has just been killed for no reason and this company was one of the bright few that increased. very few did that. that's actually the only issue i have with the banks is that the flat yield curve will continue to put pressure on net interest margins so you've got to find companies that have offsets. >> dr. j., quickly, has the big bank run, run its course? >> for the near-term? >> no. absolutely has not, judge. you look at bank america and you're talked about 80%. but look at where it came from down to here. and then that 80% was a little easier to come by.

i think now that it's puffed back into the 1050 to 1060 range bank america is a little off my radar for the short-term but i'm focusing on u.s. ban corps and wells bargo. >> let's hit a market flash. jackie deangelis, what do you see now? >> good afternoon, scott. watching shares of hpq coming off session highs at the moment but jumping more than 4% earlier on unconfirmed reports that activist investor carl icahn may have an interest in the company. mr. icahn, of course, hasn't responded to our requests for comment on this. shares are trading a little bit higher right now, 3.5% at 14.30. >> simon? >> what do you do with hp? >> it's a nice little pop if you're in it but a good excuse to get out of it. we had a conversation, i feel it's a value trap. sticking with dell. loving the fact that hpq is getting inflows of capital.

that's a good thing, i like the story. i like the potential turn in 2013. not selling any. >> doc, h.p.? >> i like hp and dell both. in particular this one is up about 8% in the last three weeks. you look at juniper, it's up 18%. so you talked about technology stocks. those are two that are just hitting it hard, even as apple was being hit hard. i think that time for apple being hit is nearing an end. as we near the capital gains tax selling that has driven it basically for these levels. you're going to see a nice pop in tech in 2013. >> you say you like hp, does that mean you're a buyer of it? >> i have been a buyer of it. i have been on this one basically since november 20th. >>'d on halftime, trading by the back. whether barnes & noble is on the verge of a breakout. two traders, two very different points of view. we'll debate that coming up. plus shares of apple fall 9% over the past week. why this company may no longer

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well, shares of barnes & noble reporting their best gain in weeks, after barron's named the company one of their favorite stocks for two thud their teen. stephanie link is bullish in doing so but simon baker says get your profits now. stephanie why do you like it? >> i think the management's done a really good job repositioning themselves. something that border's could not do and that's why they went bankrupt.

they have size and scale in their core retail business. they're gaining market share in the e book business. 27% growth and i expect that to go higher. you have great sponsors in microsoft and liberty media and i thought the recent third quarter trends were encouraging in terms of better same-store sales in core and ebook, nook. not at all perfect. but i think a lot of the bad is in and there are some encouraging signs for the positive. >> but the greater market share is cutting prices. which is the main problem. they're cutting into earnings per share. i mean, it sounds like blockbuster at the end of the day it's all great, it's just a bad business model. when his book came out amazon were charging $7.9, barnes & noble $22.99. you look at from a technical perspective, insider trading, no one else is buying it. i'd love to hear microsoft is in there but people on the know inside aren't buying anything else.

a lot of smart people are betting against it. i'd put my money elsewhere. >> it's a compelling negative case. they did cut the price of the nook. aren't they having to compete against the size and sale of the amazon? >> they cut the price of the nook but they're also focusing on the digital content part. that's where they're going to make their money. i don't like that they're not profitable on this part of the business but i do think they're doing the right things to grow the share and eventually become profitable. right? imagine in 2013if they are even flat on this business i think the stock would rise pretty quickly. in terms of the big box retailers absolutely. but that has to, believe it or not, it's actually stabilized to be up 300 to 400 million in ebitda in the past couple quarts. at five times ebitda i think there's the potential this company will spin out nook over time. >> the stock's up nearly 6%. joe, who made the more compelling argument? >> i in to tell you, fundamentally, i really don't understand too much of the model

of barnes & noble as simon mentioned. to offer a book substantially higher than you paid on amazon, i think, is problematic. and i don't like what happened in april, and stephanie can speak to this i'm sure, the stock surges all the way up to 26 and then retreats right back down to where it started somewhere around 12. i think that's telling you something about the price action in the stock. so, it's not something that i would own. >> dr. j., where do you come down on barnes & noble stock? who made the more compelling argument in today's debate? >> well, i love this stock. i liked both arguments, judge. but i think the fact that they could basically turn this thing into a reit and have the nook as a completely separate electronic business place i think that means the stock is double where it is here. that's probably why it tested as joe said up to 26 already. if something like that happens next year, watch this stock run. >> all right, well, two up, two downs, we might have to declare a mistrial. revisit this one at some point. it was only a couple weeks ago

during apple's last significant pullback doug kass said he was buying the stock. well, we'll keep on going. having just put its worst week in 2 1/2 years in the books, hat does mr. cass think now? cost doug joins us. doug, we had a little drop of the lights to add a little mood to our conversation. how you doing? >> i'm doing much better and i'm very clad to be here today. >> we're so glad to have you, as well. what do you make of what happened in apple last week, and you were on a couple weeks ago and 15id you were buying the stock? >> i bought the stock from around 530 to 510, sold it on a scale starting at 565 to 585 and reshorted the stock and have since covered. apple to me is a trading sardine. not an eating or investing sardine for the next few months. i suspect it's going to be range bound between 506. there are no clear short-term positive catalysts that i can

see, with the possible exception of a large special dividend, but time is closing out for that. that would encourage me to buy for investment. there were serious issues facing the company's profit growth and i respectfully disagree with john, x-man najarian view and jimmy cramer mentioned on street signs that the real reason why apple is going down is because of concerns about the capital gains tax. >> don't you think that's playing a role? >> no, not at all. i think the markets are moved by the unexpected and there has been real symmetry, apple's share price going up in the first three quarters of the year and down in the last two months. the stock started the year at 400. expectations were low. the company came in and had that blockbuster 36% upside in the december quarter, which was reported late january. and then followed with a 23% surprise to the upside in the march quarter. then, there was the first big disappointment in seven years in

the june quarter. they missed expectations by 10%. the markets dmog. but this were excited about the announcement of the new generation iphone and the i-pair shares and i wrote the piece at 700. the bear case for apple and that bear case remains. and then obviously in the september quarter they missed as well. >> help me understand. what in your mind over the last two to three weeks changed substantially enough that you're talking about apple now as a trade versus an investment when you were here last, you used the word generational in terms of whether this stock -- >> that was joe terranova. that was not mine. i said exactly what i'm saying now. i said that apple would be -- go back to the video. i said just the opposite. i said it will be subject to trading rentals both on the long and the short side and it is not investable. >> so you don't think that apple is a place to put your money for the long-term? >> the bloom is off the rose. the technicals have obviously

reversed, in addition to the ftdal concerns and the chief fundamental concerns are that the company faces the challenge of delivering a high quality product in massive quantities, at attractive margins, it faces the challenge late in 2013 of delivering a new wow product, it's obviously going to be the tv, but we don't know how that's going to pan out. it's lost his stock price momentum. the sentiment at 700 was at an extreme. it was overowned by most classes and investors and represented a nearly unprecedented high roll in the indices and it forced a lot of investors all in. >> doug -- >> the other thing i mention is that if, indeed, the economy slows more than i think, it's going to hurt demand for this company, because remember, apple has this stable of relatively high priced products. and the competitive landscape isn't changing and it's not for the better. the oems are catching up. as keith mccullough said last

week, valuation seems reasonable backing out cash but valuation is never a good short-term catalyst for trading. the average hardware company still trades at only 0.4 times sales. apple despite the price deline is still about 1.8 times sales. so what is apple, a hardware company or a software company? >> it's a retailer, doug. it's a retailer, as well. look at all the retail outlets they've got from itunes to the mac store. everything they've got, i think this is a retailer. you're wrong if you think this is just a hardware play. >> no, i'm not saying that. i said somewhere between a hardware and a software company. if it's a retailer -- >> most profitable retail irin the world. >> let me just give you the counterargument. most retailers have a rather broadlyivers fayed merchandise space. apple has a remarkably strong franchise, but it is subject to changing landscape, because it is pretty narrow.

don't invest in apple for the time being. i don't buy the jen rigsal low story. there are concerns and there's an absence of positive catalyst. >> joe? >> let's take the generational low comment off the table. let's just aassume that what i said was wrong. i think the ultimate question becomes how is it you approach whether itting investing or trading in apple. one of the larger problems right now is apple has become nothing more than a casino. there are people participating particularly in 2012 in apple. they're using it as doug is talking about -- >> they are trading, joe. >> using it as a trading vehicle. and the candid commentary is this, yes, doug can successfully trade apple. most people watching this show cannot. they don't have -- >> just -- >> to what joe was saying. look at the action as we move towards the middle of the week every week to the weekly expiration of the weekly call. >> and doug, you -- >> this has become the sin yeah none of trading for day trading.

>> and i'll ask dougee and jon najarian, how many people actually own the underlying stock? i think that's a problem. >> under 5%. >> doug, let me do this, look, i'm not going to -- i don't do this with the thought that i'm trying to embarrass you or whatever. on november 16th, you said, and these are your words, doug, i think this is close to a generational opportunity in the stock. so i wouldn't bring up something like that if i -- >> i said close to a generational opportunity. not a generational opportunity. the stock, went in a strain line from 700 to 530 where i started buying down to 510. then it rallies 12%. i consider that a sensational trade. this is fast money, after all. now, if i thought it was a generational low at 510 or 520, which it tested as recently as this morning, i would have held on the at 590, i did not.

>> i understand. i guess i'm just not used to hearing people talk about generational opportunities when they're talking about a fast money trade. those -- >> -- generational low -- >> longer-term investment. >> i think you're dealing with semantics. >> okay. let it be. we'll revisit it some other time. >> let me just say to everyone. again, i think apple has become a casino. i think it's problematic. i think it's reflective of the way we think in the markets. i think the machines are faster than all of you and you can't trade that fast anymore. with that said, management of apple has done a bad job and i'll tell you why. they could remove that fast element of trading from apple itself, by using the tremendous amount of cash that they have buying back stock, rolling out a special dividend. they have not done enough in terms of their capital allocation strategy to teach the market a lesson, that this is more an investment than it is a trade sflp >> judge, can i just mention one

last thing back from a week ago when i bought the stock. >> please. >> the reason why -- the reason i said it was a near generational low is because the market at 525 basically, 530 where we are now, if you put in a -- if you shove in a dividend discount model that model is basically saying that revenue and he growth of the company in the next three years will basic i be flat. if you do a spread sheet you'll see that means by fiscal year in 2015 the company will have nearly $270 a share in cash. $270 less $530 is a p/e as i said on halftime a week and a half ago of under seven times. so we're approaching at that level a near generational opportunity for continues lower. >> doug, i got to run. i got to run. we'll talk to you again soon, i promise. >> thanks for having me. >> doug kass, folks. big political news out of italy, shaking that market overnight and sending yields surging. word that prime minister mario

monti will resign early and that silvio berlusconi is considering a comeback. carolyn roth is live in rome with the very latest. what can you tell us? >> well, the perceived political calm that we've seen in italy over the last 13 months, that came to a very abrupt end over the weekend. that's when prime minister mario monti surprisingly resigned, which still hinges on the passage of a budget law before the end of the year. at the same time, very controversial former prime minister silvio berlusconi also said he is run fog are the prime minister post again. so this is got markets extremely wore rid. here's why. because markets are concerned that the new government would be elected on february 24th, that this new government will not be implementing the austerity measures that mr. monti has implemented over the last couple months. but is this concern actually warranted? well, if you speak to a number

of analysts, well they'll say, no, because if you look at the opinion polls you'll see that the party which will most likely win, that's the democratic party. and he said, or the leader said, look, we're going to stick to the austerity measures that were implemented by monti. >> carolyn roth for us in rome tonight. coming up, jcpenney ringing up discounts. what this dramatic change in pricing strategy spells out for its ceo ron johnson and his future. and of course, the stock, we'll be right back. try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business.

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it is time now for our top three trades on halftime. first up, goldman sachs downgrading the cme group to a sale from neutral. saying 2013 will be a rough stock for changes. >> it has been a tough couple years for these guys. everything from peregrine financial and mf global but the numbers are telling a different story. they just had earnings out last week, up 16% volume was at the cme year over year. that's a positive sign. so on dips here, i'm a buyer.

i own the stock already through some seed ownership years ago. but i continue to hold it. >> joey, let's talk some priceline seeing a big drop today after a downgrade over at deutsche bank. that citing a more challenging environment in 2013. this is a stock that's obviously had a good year, joe, down 5% today. >> i think the stock back in may when it reached 774, really the story was over for priceline at that point. stock is trading between 550 and 700. i don't think that's your online travel trade now anyway. i think it's expedia. the ability to grow internationally as deutsche bank says in the report. and again, trip adviser. trip adviser at $38 i think is more upside potential. these are two names i would focus on. >> talk about jcp. focus there. stephanie link take a look at the stock. up 2% today, spiking despite a cautious note saying the retailer's long-term vision is in a state of flux. you think? >> yeah. >> the note comes after the weekend announcement of a 20%

off friends and family sale. >> deutsche bank and oppenheimer were fairly constructive on this promotion, saying that basically they need to do these promotions to get the store traffic. i think that's one of the biggest problems right now. what was encouraging in the last quarter was the only thing that was decent in this quarter was that the traffic stayed flat sequentially. if they can get people in the stores the new concepts are actually doing well. but this kind of the expensive margins, of course? does it improve conversion rate? i think it might. >> still to come on halftime, morgan stoply releases its commodities forecast for 2013. what the firm says about gold, oil and much more. and the biggest pops and drops in midday training. and johnny football, johnny heisman, johnny manziel is the top college football player in the land. and he's going to join us live. maybe he can solve the fiscal cliff, too. we're back in two. ♪

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november was actually the inflection point for the mine ease market and the chinese economy. pmi numbers are more positive. industrial production is up. retail sales are bouncing back. but more importantly, i've been speaking to a lot of companies

on the ground and they're telling me, property market are doing better. >> well, that was jpmorgan's chairman of global markets china. on the "halftime report" last friday giving us her outlook for china. how is the growth story affecting the commodity trade and what's in store for 2013. head of commodities research at morgan stanley, hussein, welcome. >> thank you. how are you? >> the sentiment certainly seems to have changed for the better towards china. what do you do with the data we got over the weekend? export and import data was a little did it disappointing but the internal numbers are pretty good. the production was up. >> if we look at the data for oil specifically, imports were at their highest number six months in november. not as strong on a year on year basis but still pretty decent data. >> so what do you do? >> we like oil relative to conseine us it in 2013. owing largely to the growth you're seeing here in the u.s. i don't want to discount the supply growth that we're seeing

in the u.s. it's phenomenal from a north american perspective. when we look at it through the global lens, it's still not enough if the global economy grows by 3.1% as morgan stoply's economists expect. >> copper is getting a nice bid today. do you see that continuing and what about, you know, throughout the precious metal space? >> so on copper, first and foremost, copper is our favorite base metal amongst the base metals. you've seen a supply response in copper but that supply response has lagged the supply response you're seeing in some of the other base metals. we don't like the aluminiums, the zings, but we do like copper. the relatively low level of inventories in china and globally constructed for copper. now on your question with respect to precious metals, we like gold, we like gold since two,000 six when i joined morgan stoply and we continue to like it. solely because real rates are likely to remain depressed through 2013. the fed have been very clear on their policies. and growth is still very uncertain. our 3.1% gdpforecast depends on

policy working, and that policy means, you know, low real rates going forward. >> you're looking for quite a jump, right? 1853 from 1700 where we stand right now. gold can't seem to get out of its own way right now. >> i think it's been stuck, you know, in this range owing slightly to the strength in the dollar that we've seen. we're kind of stuck in this sort of middle ground where things aren't falling apart. things aren't getting a whole lot better. as we get into '13 popefully we can get clarity, it should benefit. if it's better next year you start worrying about inflation which means lower real rates. again constructive for gold. >> stephanie? >> so if exports in the most recent data was only up about 2.9% versus 11% last month do you think that this means that the new leadership is going to announce another round of stimulus, that they have to? what is your thought about this? i think that number has to get better for commodities to actually do better. >> sure.

so helen ciao is our china economist. up from about 7.7% this year. china is going to do what they have to do we think to get growth improved right. the idea of a hard-lining is not our base case and if you look at the commodity specific data it's actually looking a lot better than some of the headlines. if you look at china's imports, soybeans as an example, or the latest data which shows their imports of crude, still very strong. >> hussein, good to talk to you. >> thank you, kindly. >> let's hit the biggest pops and drops in midday trading. stx, joey? >> deutsche bank has positive comments out on western digital that's taking seagate and western digital off the lows. >> dr. j., ingersoll-rand? >> i saw the stock pop to a 52-week high on a $2 billion buyback and splitting the company up, which had been rumored for awhile. but now it's given all of that

back and turned negative so i guess that's telling the story you should take profit. >> the gap? >> a lot of sweaters being bought this year. the stocks up 65% year to date. i think people are just taking some profits going into next year on dividend selling. 200 day moring average. >> all right and fedex? >> this is the busiest day of the year for the company. ship out 19 million packages. i think you really want to own more for the restructuring and that's why we own it. >> pop for posh primates. talk about monkey business. shoppers at a toronto ikea were shocked over the weekend to see a baby monkey running wild around the store. the animal dressed in a fancy fur coat and a diaper reportedly escaped from its owners car. authorities were able to capture the chic chimp but not before his pictures went all over the internet. up next on "halftime report," hold 'em or fold 'em. what's in the cards for two winning stocks. first brian shactman goes first in goal with the man they call johnny football.

>> scott, this is one of two heisman trophys that belong to johnny manziel. of course, the texas a&m quarterback winner of the heisman trophy will replace the statue with the real one coming up. it is as heavy as they say. [ male announcer ] when it comes to the financial obstacles military families face, we understand. at usaa, we know military life is different. we've been there. that's why every bit of financial advice we offer is geared specifically

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problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. see your doctor, and for a 30-day free trial, go to axiron.com. hi, everybody, coming up in the next hour on "power lunch" a lot of talk about what investors should do if we go over the fiscal cliff.

but where do you invest if there is a debt deal? some smart strategies with your stock picks coming up. one area of those fiscal cliff negotiations that is getting very little attention but could have a major ramification for you and your kids is the estate tax. we will drill down on the future of the inheritance tax. and the other side of google, the internet giant slashing bills -- stashes, i should say, billions in tax shelters to avoid paying taxes. is that fair play or is it absolutely outrageous? we'll talk about that at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. now back to scott and the fast money "halftime report." >> over the weekend johnny manziel made history as the first freshman to win the heisman trophy and with a great nickname to go along with his great story it would seem as though the sky is the limit for the kid they call johnny football. our brian shactman is live in new york city with the texas a&m qb. brian? >> they call him johnny heisman now, too. only the fifth player ever in college football to throw for

more than 3,000 yards and run for at least 1,000. johnny, thanks for joining us. first of all, how you holding up? >> not bad. i'm enjoying all of this. just taking it in stride. making sure i enjoy the moment. >> you're not talked out yet? >> not yet. >> what is it like to go from six months ago, you don't know his story, he wasn't even a starter on the team. today's "usa today," full-page ad, a bill board in the middle of times square, what's that like? >> who would have ever thought that it would come from what it was in the spring, not knowing how it would start, what was going on now. it's such a blessing to be in this situation and have so many people around and enjoy this time with my family. >> what does it say how tall you are on the program? >> 6'1". >> what are you? >> six foot exactly. >> so with drew brees in the nfl, and like russell wilson in the nfl, is it now no longer an issue to be small and play big-time football? >> i still think it's almost frowned upon a little bit.

it's a question mark. but the way that the game, the quarterback position has been revolutionized this year with what rg3 has done in washington and how that offense has changed to fit his skill set, a guy that kind of is similar to mine and then russell wilson what he's doing with his stature and drew brees, as well. >> there's a major argue in "the wall street journal" today about how the changing face of college football and this conference realignment, maybe four super conferences and a lot of it has to do with television. if you weren't in the acc, texas a&m swimping into the s.e.c. excuse me, if you weren't in the s.e.c. and you had to play alabama you think you could have won an award like this? >> it would have been a lot more difficult. the big dwell is a great conference. i don't feel like it has the power that the s.e.c. does and think everybody that's involved in the s.e.c. feels like it's the best conference in the country for a reason. so with the tv and stuff, we were on tv a lot more this year than we have been in the past. so it was good to get noticed a

little bit more, and then to play some of the best teams in the country was even better. >> scott wapner has a question at hq. >> johnny, we talk about money on this show. your stock has obviously gone way up in the last couple of weeks. the whole johnny football thing, you guys trade mark that yet, you and your family? >> i haven't really been involved in it too much. i heard about it. kind of been pushed aside. so, i think it's something that the is something that university and maybe some family members are just talking about, but i think it is in the process. >> you would be interested in doing that though? >> go ahead. >> you would be interested in doing that though, right? >> on the safe side just so nobody else would take something that has kind of came about with my success and run with it, i would be ashamed to see that happen. >> so is it frustrating to go

from the nfl -- >> it is not frustrating. that situation will all play itself out and work out the way it is supposed to. >> johnny manziel, first freshman ever to win the heisman. now off to the cotton bowl. >> yes. >> up next, delta comes closer to inking a deal with virgin. and a look at whether a holiday shopping malaise is in. ♪

welcome to the world leader in derivatives. welcome to superderivatives.

some other news you might have missed while you were businessing trading today. delta may buy a 49% stake from virj yan airlines. the death is worth 300 to $900 million. >> i say, don't do it. for 15 years i've traveled on virgin atlantic. i've loved it. if delta gets a hold of it, we will be buying peanuts. there won't be any sexy little things serving me drinks any more. don't do it, richard. >> you were talking about the little bag of pretzels, obviously. that's what you meant. >> some kind of pretzel. >> that's what i thought you meant. i saved you -- maybe -- slower than previously believed with a final quarter. ever weaker. who wants to take this? steph? >> i don't think so. i think home prices continue to

be higher. consumer sentiment continues to be strong. maybe you see pause because of weather issuees. sandy, fiscal cliff. but as a result, the ones that fall and come down a lot, those are the ones you pick at. >> and pope benedict is launching a new application. pope to you on facebook. the application lets you listen to his words, see his pictures and receive messages of congratulations through virtual post cards. all right, all right, sema? >> hewlitt packard jumping nearly 4%. carl may be interested in the company. hp facing serious issues and the stock faulling 44%. own an fast money at 5:00, we want to know if you think they can rise from the dead. >> thank so much. final trades up next when we come back on "halftime."

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time for final trades. doc up chi town what's up? >> joey. >> that's the potential given its geographic location. nice asset base. >> mgm. las vegas is starting to see improvement and they have exposure. >> simon baker. >> buying gold ahead of the fed. i think there will be noise about more. >> how about that, we didn't even talk about that. fed meeting next couple of days. president, speaker meeting over the weekend. how are we thinking about the overall market when you have the cliff looming. who knows what feds are thinking. and all of the other choppy data, joe? >> yeah. now head winds coming out of eu